Nightfly A New Dawn is the second album from Scenario II, a melodic death metal band from the Netherlands. They’ve been around for some time now having released their debut album; Uniforms Of Death back in 2009 though only guitarist Mark Van Doren appears to remain from that line-up. Now if I was doing my research properly I’d be going back and checking out that debut album out before diving in headlong into this one, but having had A New Dawn blasting in the car the last week or so I’m eager to share what a great album this is.

The cover and title leave no doubt about a post-apocalypse world being the subject matter. The album kicks off with The Darkest Hour, a short intro piece. It’s symphonic nature and semi-operatic female vocals from Myrthe van Beest give the impression that we may be in for some symphonic metal in the Epica vein. While there are elements of that it soon becomes clear that A New Dawn is a much heavier beast more in the melodic death metal tradition. The bands influences include In Flames, Soilwork, At The Gates and Dark Tranquillity amongst others (they even include an In Flames cover, Stand Ablaze to close the album). Pleasingly, whilst these influences can sometimes be heard they inject plenty of their own identity. For example, although Bas de Kruyff growls are never far from the front of the mix, Mythe Van Beest’s more melodic female tones are on an even footing most of the time rather than the token gesture many bands give to them which considering the quality of her voice is a wise decision. While the guitar riffs hit hard, they contain plenty of melody with the symphonic elements adding additional melody and drama. However, whilst the symphonic touches are welcome additions they don’t take over keeping the guitars to the fore where they belong. The music is extremely well played by all with a versatile and solid as a rock rhythm section complementing the dynamic and explosive nature of much of the material. The Promised Wasteland is a nice mid-album touch being a short instrumental adding some light and shade being more subdued than most of the tracks.

Whilst A New Dawn may not be the most original album – and probably has no pretence to be, the strong compositions, overall consistency and enthusiasm the band inject is infectious and any fan of this type of stuff should have no problem enjoying this. Well worth checking out.